Semiconductor chip package thermo-mechanical cooling assembly

ABSTRACT

An apparatus is described. The apparatus includes a back plate. The apparatus includes a bolster plate that is secured to the back plate with a back bolt. The bolster plate has a window. The apparatus includes a circuit board between the back plate and the bolster plate. A semiconductor chip package is electro-mechanically coupled to the circuit board within the window. The apparatus includes a load stud that emanates from a face of the bolster plate. The back bolt emanates from an opposite face of the bolster plate. The load stud and back bolt are oriented along a same axis that is orthogonal to the face and the opposite face. The apparatus includes a heat sink. The apparatus includes a loading plate. The heat sink is mounted to the loading plate. The loading plate has a fixturing element that is secured to the load stud to secure the loading plate to the bolster plate.

BACKGROUND

Thermal engineers face challenges, especially with respect to highperformance data center computing, as both computers and networkscontinue to pack higher and higher levels of performance into smallerand smaller packages. Creative cooling solutions are therefore beingdesigned to keep pace with the thermal requirements of such aggressivelydesigned systems.

FIGURES

FIGS. 1a and 1b pertain to a prior art cooling assembly;

FIGS. 2a and 2b pertain to an improved cooling assembly;

FIGS. 3a, 3b, and 3c pertain to a bolster plate;

FIGS. 4a, 4b, 4c, and 4d pertain to a loading plate;

FIGS. 5a, 5b, 5c, and 5d pertain to a fixturing element;

FIG. 6 pertains to another fixturing element;

FIG. 7 pertains to a electronic system;

FIG. 8 pertains to a data center;

FIG. 9 pertains to a rack.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1a and 1b pertain to a prior art semiconductor chip coolingassembly. Referring to FIG. 1a , to form the assembly, a semiconductorchip package 112 is mounted within the window opening of a chip carrier109. The chip carrier 109 (with attached chip package 112) is thenmounted to the underside of the base of the heat sink 110. Notably, thebase of the heat sink 110 has holes with spring loaded fixturingelements 111 that are aligned with load studs 107 that emanate from abolster plate (a circuit board 101 with chip package socket 104 has apriori been rigidly secured between the bolster plate 103 and a backplate 102 with backing bolts (“back bolts”) 105).

The heat sink 110 (with attached carrier 109 and chip package 112) isthen lowered onto the bolster plate 103 with the load studs 107 beinginserted into the spring loaded fixturing elements 111. The springloading fixturing elements 111 are then tightened (a torsion bar isrotated) which secures the bolster plate 103 to the heat sink 110 (aspring loading force is created by the fixturing elements 111 that pullsthe base of the heat sink 110 and the bolster plate 103 toward oneanother).

A problem with the prior art cooling assembly, referring to FIG. 1b , isthe propensity of the heat sink 110 to move side-to-side and/or tilt 113during the assembly process. Such movement and/or tilting 113 of theheat sink 110 can cause any of a number of problems such as I/O damageat the package/socket, socket/board and/or package/board interfaces(depending on which such interfaces are present), higher thermalresistance between the chip package and heat sink, and/or reliabilityproblems because of uneven weight distribution around the bolster plateand through the load studs.

FIGS. 2a and 2b shows an improved cooling assembly that promotesvertical movement of the heat sink during its assembly but discourageslateral movement and/or tilting of the heat sink during its assembly.FIG. 2a shows an exploded view while FIG. 2b shows a cross section ofthe completed assembly.

In the improved cooling assembly, a circuit board 201 (e.g., a printedcircuit board) is sandwiched between a bolster plate 203 and a backplate 202. Unlike the bolster plate of the prior art cooling assembly,however, the bolster plate 203 of the improved cooling assembly alignsthe backing bolt 205 and the loading stud 207 along a single axis 208.In various embodiments, a backing bolt 205 and loading stud 207 pairthat are aligned along the same axis 208 are formed from a singlemechanical element that is positioned in the bolster plate 203 to havethe backing bolt 203 emanate downward from the underside of the bolsterplate 203 and the loading stud 207 emanate upward from the upper surfaceof the bolster plate 203.

Also, in the improved embodiment of FIGS. 2a and 2b , the chip package212 is mounted to a thicker, load bearing “loading plate” 209 (ratherthan a thinner non-load bearing carrier 109 as in the prior artsolution). The thicker loading plate 209 includes the spring loadedfixturing elements 211 for securing the heat sink to the bolster plate203.

These and other improvements are described immediately below.

FIGS. 3a and 3b depict an embodiment of the bolster plate. As observedin FIG. 3a , a backing bolt 305 and loading stud 307 are aligned along asame vertical axis (which is different than the prior art approach inwhich the backing bolt 105 and load stud 107 are aligned along differentrespective axis 106, 108). Multiple such bolt/stud pairs can existaround the bolster plate 303. In the particular embodiment of FIGS. 3aand 3b there are six such pairs but other embodiments can use fewer(e.g., four pairs for less heavy heat sinks) or more (e.g., 8 pairs forheavier heat sinks).

The alignment of a backing bolt 305 and loading stud 307 pair along asame vertical axis causes the weight of the heat sink 210 to be moreevenly shared by the backing plate 202 and bolster plate 303, and/or, bemore uniformly distributed across the bolster plate 303 and/or backingplate 202 as compared to the prior art approach. FIG. 3b shows anembodiment of the bolster plate without the backing bolt and loadingstuds being installed.

Such uniformity is even further enhanced in embodiments where a backingbolt 305 and loading stud 307 pair are different sections of a samemechanical component 323 as observed in FIG. 3c (e.g., the singleelement 323 is milled from a same metal or metal alloy bulk material ormolded from a same metal, metal alloy (e.g., steel), etc.). Here,referring to FIGS. 3a, 3b, and 3c , a support ring 314 that is formed inthe single mechanical element 323 is welded or brazed on its bottom sideto the top side of the bolster plate 303. After the attachment of thesingle element 323 to the bolster plate 303, the backing bolt section305 of the element 323 protrudes downward from the bottom surface of thebolster plate 303 while the loading stud section 307 of the element 323emanates upward from the top surface of the bolster plate 303.

Additional characteristics of the bolster plate 303 embodiment observedin FIGS. 3a and 3b is the presence of stamped protrusions 315 and theabsence of any holes. Both of these features provide strengtheningimprovements over the bolster plate of the prior art cooling assembly.The strengthening improvements diminish the bolster plate's propensityto bend or flex, which, in turn, results in less propensity of the heatsink to tilt or move sideways during its installation.

In general, a metal sheet by itself is easily bent (a metal sheet byitself is flexible). The presence of stamped protrusions 315 upon thesurface of a metal sheet, however, decreases the sheet's flexibility.Here, any particular stamped protrusion 315, having shorter length andwidth than the overall plate 303, requires an extremely large force tobend. The existence of multiple such protrusions along the surface ofthe plate 303 therefore reduces the flexibility of the plate 303 as awhole to something that is comparable to the flexibility of theindividual protrusions themselves.

Moreover, as mentioned above with respect to the prior art coolingassembly, the prior art bolster plate includes numerous holes in whichbacking bolts, alignment pins, and/or loading studs are placed. Thepresence of such numerous holes corresponds to the absence of metalmaterial which, in turn, creates a more elastic plate. As such, theprior art bolster plate is more easily bent resulting in heat sink tiltor lateral movement. By contrast, the improved bolster plate 303 ofFIGS. 3a and 3b , other than the holes through which the single elementbacking bolt and loading stud elements 323 are inserted, does notinclude any holes. As such, the improved bolster plate 303 is lesseasily bent resulting in reduced heat sink tilt or lateral movement.

Referring back to FIGS. 2a and 2b , the improved assembly also includesa loading plate 209. According to a first assembly approach, thesemiconductor chip package is mounted within the window of the loadingplate 209. The loading plate 209 (with attached chip package 212) isthen mounted to the underside of the base of the heat sink 210. Theloading plate 209 (and chip package 212) with attached sink 210 is thenmounted to the bolster plate 203.

According to a second assembly approach, the semiconductor chip package212 is mounted within the window of the loading plate 209. The loadingplate 209 (with attached chip package 212) is then mounted to thebolster plate 203. The heat sink 210 is then mounted to the loadingplate 209.

Note that in both of the above described assembly processes the loadingplate 209 (with attached chip packaged 212) is mounted to the bolsterplate 209, and, the heat sink 210 is mounted to the loading plate 209.This stands in contrast to the prior art approach in which the heat sink110, having spring loaded fixturing elements 111, is mounted to thebolster plate 103.

Here, the prior art approach uses a thin metallic “carrier” 109 whosesole mechanical purpose is to hold the chip package 112 in the undersideof the base of the heat sink 110. The weight of the heat sink 110 istherefore borne by directly the bolster plate 103 via its directmechanical connection with the heat sink 110.

By contrast, in the improved approach, as observed in FIGS. 2a and 2b ,the “carrier” 109 is thickened to a “loading plate” 209 so that it canbear the weight of the heat sink 210 (unlike the carrier 109 in theprior art assembly). For example, in the prior art approach the carrier109 is no more than 2.5 mm thick. By contrast, the thickened loadingplate 209 has a thickness greater than 2.5 mm thick (e.g., in a rangefrom 2.5 mm to 3.0 mm).

In essence, whereas a traditional carrier 109 by itself cannot supportthe weight of a heat sink by (by itself, a carrier would substantiallybend under the weight of a heat sink), by contrast, the loading plate209 by itself can support the weight of a heat sink (by itself, aloading plate does not substantially bend under the weight of a heatsink). The thicker loading plate 209 also has mechanically integratedfixturing elements 211 to mount the loading plate 209 to the bolsterplate 203.

As such, in various embodiments, in the completed assembly, the heatsink 210 essentially “sits on” the loading plate 209 rather than beingspring load mounted to the bolster plate 203 (as in the prior artapproach). As such, the weight of the heat sink 210 is borne by theloading plate 209, the bolster plate 203, and the back plate 202 throughthe common axis 208 of the backing bolt 205 and load stud 207 (thisparticular weight bearing design is further enhanced with a commonbacking bolt 305 and load stud 307 element 323 that is secured to theback plate 202 at one end and the loading plate 209 at the other end).The loading plate 209 also performs a traditional carrier function inthat the chip package 212 is mounted within the window of the loadingplate 209.

FIGS. 4a,4b, and 4c show more detailed views of the loading plate 409.FIG. 4a shows an isolated loading plate 409 with mechanically integratedfixturing elements 411. FIG. 4b shows an isolated view of a loadingplate 409 mounted to the bolster plate 403. FIG. 4c shows the structureof FIG. 4b with a heat sink 410 mounted on the loading plate 409. InFIG. 4c , note that the heat sink has holes 416 in which the loadingplate's fixturing elements 411 are inserted.

The loading plate 409, ideally, evenly distributes the weight of theheat sink 410 around the loading plate's frame arms. Because the weightof the heat sink 410 is substantially evenly distributed around theframe arms of the loading plate 409, the weight of the heat sink 410 issubstantially evenly distributed through the loading studs and aroundthe bolster plate 403 and back plate, which, in turn, diminishes tiltingof the heat sink. Said another way, the loading plate 409 in combinationwith the common axis of the load studs and back bolts causes the weightof the heat sink 410 to be more evenly distributed at the bolster plate403 and back plate 402 than was possible with the prior art approach.Even distribution of the weight, in turn, translates into little/no tiltand/or lateral movement of the heat sink during its installation.

Additionally, with three thick plates (loading, bolster, and backplates) supporting the weight of the heat sink 410 rather than two thickplates as in the prior art solution (bolster plate and back plate),there is less propensity of any of the plates to bend under the weightof the heat sink which further limits the tilt and/or lateral movementof the heat sink during its installation.

In further embodiments, as observed in FIG. 4d , the loading plate 409and bolster plate 403 have respective mechanical keys 417 that preventmis-orientation of the loading plate 409 with the bolster plate 403 whenthe two are secured together. Here, a specific arrangement of teethformed on the loading plate 409 are designed to fit into a correspondingarrangement of grooves formed in the bolster plate 403 (and/orvice-versa). The teeth/groove arrangement is such that the loading plate409 cannot be pressed flush against the bolster plate 403 unless theteeth are properly aligned with their corresponding grooves.

As mentioned above the loading plate 209, 409 has integrated fixturingelements 211, 411 for securing the loading plate 409 to the bolsterplate 403.

FIGS. 5a through 5d pertain to an embodiment of the fixturing elements211, 511 that mount to the single element 323 back bolt and loading studdiscussed above with respect to FIG. 3c . As described in more detailimmediately below, the single bolt/stud element 323 also includes aspring section 313 to induce spring loading between the loading plate307 and the bolster plate 303 when the fixturing elements 211, 511 aresecured to the loading stud 307 section of the single element 323.

FIG. 5a depicts an exploded view of an embodiment of the fixturingelement hardware 511. As observed in FIG. 5a , the fixturing elementhardware 511 includes a top nut 504 and bottom nut 503 that are encasedwithin a housing. The housing is formed by a top part 502 and a bottompart 501. In the particular embodiment of FIG. 5a , the inner radius ofthe opening in the top of the bottom housing part 501 is approximatelythe same as the outer radius of the opening in the bottom of the tophousing part 502 such that the top housing part 502 press fits into thebottom housing the part 501. The bottom housing part 501 has features505 on its underside that allows it to press fit into correspondingholes in the bolster plate.

To assemble the fixturing element 511 onto the loading plate, the bottomhousing part 501 is press fit into a corresponding opening in thebolster plate. The bottom nut 503 is placed in a top opening in thebottom housing 501 and the top nut 504 is placed on the bottom nut 503.The top housing 502 is then placed over the stacked bottom and top nuts503, 504 and press fit into the bottom housing 501.

When the fixturing element 511 has been assembled on the loading plate,the loading plate is ready to be attached to the bolster plate. Asdescribed above, such attachment can occur with or without the heat sinkbeing attached to the loading plate (attachment of the chip packagewithin the window opening of the loading plate is assumed).

According to one embodiment, a loading plate with chip package andfixturing elements and a heat sink that is mounted to the loading plateare shipped as a unit to system manufacturers. The system manufacturersdesign circuit boards having the corresponding bolster plate (and backplate) for the particular loading plate component of the shipped unit.

As such, after a system manufacturer receives the assembled loadingplate and heat sink unit, the system manufacturer merely places thereceived unit on the loading studs that emanate from the bolster plate.Here, the aforementioned holes in the loading plate that the respectivebottom housing parts 501 (of the fixturing elements that are integratedwith the loading plate) are press fit into receive the load studs. Thebottom and top nuts 503, 504 then secure the fixturing elements 511 tothe load studs.

As such, to mount the loading plate and heat sink unit to the bolsterplate, a technician merely has to align the fixturing elements 211, 411,511 on the loading plate with their corresponding load studs 207, 407and lower the unit onto the bolster plate such that load studs areinserted into the aforementioned holes in the loading plate and engagewith the bottom nut 503 of the respective fixturing elements 211, 411,511.

Importantly, apart from the simple mounting procedure described justabove, the bottom and top nuts 503, 504 of the fixturing elements 211,411, 511 are designed to diminish or eliminate tilting of the bolsterplate 209, 409 as the bolster plate 209, 409 is secured to the bolsterplate 203, 303. With an un-tilted bolster plate, the heat sink islikewise un-tilted when the cooling assembly is finally completed.

FIGS. 5b and 5c show two different states of the bottom nut 503 as aload stud is engaged with the load nut's fixturing element. FIG. 5bshows the state of the bottom nut 503 when the load stud is firstinserted into the opening at the bottom of the bottom nut 503. Notably,the opening at the bottom of the bottom nut is formed as conicallyshaped tabs or fingers 506 that point deeper into the nut (also observedin FIG. 5a ). The wider opening at the bottom of the bottom nut 503allows the very bottom of the bottom nut 503 to “capture” the load studwhen the loading plate is initially aligned with and placed upon theloading studs.

The regions 507 of the tabs/fingers 506 that are closer to the top ofthe bottom nut 503 are threaded and act as alignment locks that ideallyprevent the loading plate from tilting as the load studs are threadeddeeper into the fixturing.

Specifically, as the load stud enters the bottom nut 503 it eventuallyreaches and threads into the top nut 504. The top of the top housing 502is open and exposes the upper surface of the top nut 504 which providesan interface for a hex key or other kind of wrench. As the technicianrotates the top nut 504, the load stud threads deeper into the top nut504 (the load stud is pulled upward into the top nut 504 by the rotationof the top nut 504).

Importantly, the pulling of the load stud continually upward into thetop nut 504 bends the threaded regions 507 of the tabs 506 in the bottomnut 503 away from the stud as observed in FIG. 5b (the tabs 506 arefinger-like and therefore have some elasticity). Thus, so long as theloading plate has little/no tilt, the technician will experience theresistance associated with the rotation of the top nut 504 as the loadstud is pulled upward into the top nut 504.

If, however, the loading plate attempts to tilt during attachment of thefixturing elements to their corresponding load studs, the load studsthat are nearest the regions of the loading plate that are attempting torise higher than other regions of the loading plate will try to “pullaway” or “pull out” from their corresponding top nut. In response to thepulling-away action of the load studs in the regions of the loadingplate that are attempting to rise higher than other regions of theloading plate, the tabs of the corresponding bottom nuts 503 will “lock”on these load studs as observed in FIG. 5c and FIG. 5d . The clampingdown of the tabs on the load studs that are attempting to pull away fromtheir top nuts essentially prevents the pulling away action which, inturn, (ideally) prevents the loading plate 509 from tilting.

As mentioned above, the fixturing elements are part of an overall springloaded attachment mechanism that uses the load stud as the springelement. More specifically, referring to FIG. 3c , the spring loading iseffected by the middle section 313 of the single integrated back boltand load stud element 323 of FIG. 3 c.

More specifically, middle section 313 has metal material deliberatelyremoved. The removal of the metal material reduces the metal mass in themiddle region 313 thereby giving the middle region 313 some elasticity(the more metal material that is removed, the more elastic the middleregion 313 becomes).

As the load stud is threaded deeper into the top nut of the attachmenthardware, the spring element 313 is increasingly/pulled stretched. Whenthe loading plate is fully secured to the bolster plate because the loadstud has been pulled its final distance into the top nut, themiddle/spring section 313 of the integrated load/back stud is stretchedso that it exerts a force that pulls the loading plate and bolster platetoward one another which corresponds to the spring loading of theattachment mechanism.

In various embodiments, referring back to FIGS. 5a and 5d , the bottomnut 503 also has an associated height that corresponds to a “stop” onthe amount that the top nut 504 can be turned. In various embodiments,the height of the bottom nut 503 is the same across all of the fixturingelements 211, 411, 511 that are spaced around the loading plate 209,409. As such, the respective top nuts 504 of all of the fixturingelements on the loading plate can only be turned a substantially similar(e.g., same) amount of rotations, which, in turn, diminishes orotherwise prevents tilt of the loading plate (e.g., all instances ofloading attachment hardware are tightened equally with no instance ofloading attachment hardware pulling its load stud further into its topnut than any other instance of loading attachment hardware).

Referring back to FIGS. 2a and 2b , recall that the heat sink 210 ismounted to the loading plate with a cam fixturing element 213. Asobserved in FIG. 2a , the cam fixturing elements 213 are centered onalignment pins 214 that emanate from the top surface of the loadingplate 209 (there are four cam fixturing elements in the embodiment ofFIG. 2a ). To mount the heat sink 210 to the loading plate 207, thealignment pins 214 are aligned with their corresponding cam fixturingelements 213 and the heat sink 210 is lowered onto the loading plate 209such that the alignment pins 214 are inserted into and engage with theircorresponding cam fixturing element 213. In an embodiment, to engagewith the cam fixturing element, the corresponding alignment pin have apair of circular ribs that a finger within the cam fixturing elementpress fits in between.

After the heat sink 210 is seated on the loading plate 209 with thealignment pins 214 being engaged with their cam fixturing elements 213,referring to FIG. 6, a rotating flag 601 of the cam fixturing element613 is rotated with causes the aforementioned finger 602 to ride up acam groove 603 until it becomes latched into a notch 604. The raising ofthe finger pulls the alignment pin further upward into the cam fixturingelement thereby further pressing the heat sink and loading plate againstone another. In various embodiments the cam fixturing element is springloaded (e.g., a spring is coupled between the finger and the base of camfixturing element). Notably, however, the spring loading need not havethe same force as the spring loading between the loading plate and thebolster plate.

Ideally, the pressing of the heat sink and loading plate against oneanother causes the bottom of the heat sink to press against thermalinterface material (e.g., a thermally conductive paste that has beenspread) on the top surface of the semiconductor chip package. The sealbetween the thermal interface material is easily broken (e.g., if atechnician desires to remove the heat sink from the assembly) byrotating the cam's flag 601 back to an unlocked position.

It is noteworthy that numerous improvements have been described above inrelation to a single embodiment (vertically aligned backing bolts andload stud, thicker loading plate, spring loaded fixturing elementsmounted to loading plate, etc.). As such, there can exist otherembodiments that include one or more of these improvements but do notinclude all of these improvements.

Although embodiments above have emphasized the presence of a heat sinkin the cooling assembly it is conceivable that other kinds of coolingmasses such as a cold plate or vapor chamber can be placed on theloading plate as described above. As such, the teachings above apply tocooling masses generally rather than only to heat sinks, specifically.

The following discussion concerning FIGS. 7, 8, and 9 are directed tosystems, data centers and rack implementations, generally. FIG. 7generally describes possible features of an electronic system that caninclude one or more semiconductor chip packages having a coolingassembly that is designed according to the teachings above. FIG. 8describes possible features of a data center that can include suchelectronic systems. FIG. 9 describes possible features of a rack havingone or more such electronic systems installed into it.

FIG. 7 depicts an example system. System 700 includes processor 710,which provides processing, operation management, and execution ofinstructions for system 700. Processor 710 can include any type ofmicroprocessor, central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit(GPU), processing core, or other processing hardware to provideprocessing for system 700, or a combination of processors. Processor 710controls the overall operation of system 700, and can be or include, oneor more programmable general-purpose or special-purpose microprocessors,digital signal processors (DSPs), programmable controllers, applicationspecific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs),or the like, or a combination of such devices.

Certain systems also perform networking functions (e.g., packet headerprocessing functions such as, to name a few, next nodal hop lookup,priority/flow lookup with corresponding queue entry, etc.), as a sidefunction, or, as a point of emphasis (e.g., a networking switch orrouter). Such systems can include one or more network processors toperform such networking functions (e.g., in a pipelined fashion orotherwise).

In one example, system 700 includes interface 712 coupled to processor710, which can represent a higher speed interface or a high throughputinterface for system components that needs higher bandwidth connections,such as memory subsystem 720 or graphics interface components 740, oraccelerators 742. Interface 712 represents an interface circuit, whichcan be a standalone component or integrated onto a processor die. Wherepresent, graphics interface 740 interfaces to graphics components forproviding a visual display to a user of system 700. In one example,graphics interface 740 can drive a high definition (HD) display thatprovides an output to a user. High definition can refer to a displayhaving a pixel density of approximately 100 PPI (pixels per inch) orgreater and can include formats such as full HD (e.g., 1080p), retinadisplays, 4K (ultra-high definition or UHD), or others. In one example,the display can include a touchscreen display. In one example, graphicsinterface 740 generates a display based on data stored in memory 730 orbased on operations executed by processor 710 or both. In one example,graphics interface 740 generates a display based on data stored inmemory 730 or based on operations executed by processor 710 or both.

Accelerators 742 can be a fixed function offload engine that can beaccessed or used by a processor 710. For example, an accelerator amongaccelerators 742 can provide compression (DC) capability, cryptographyservices such as public key encryption (PKE), cipher,hash/authentication capabilities, decryption, or other capabilities orservices. In some embodiments, in addition or alternatively, anaccelerator among accelerators 742 provides field select controllercapabilities as described herein. In some cases, accelerators 742 can beintegrated into a CPU socket (e.g., a connector to a motherboard orcircuit board that includes a CPU and provides an electrical interfacewith the CPU).

For example, accelerators 742 can include a single or multi-coreprocessor, graphics processing unit, logical execution unit single ormulti-level cache, functional units usable to independently executeprograms or threads, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs),neural network processors (NNPs), “X” processing units (XPUs),programmable control logic circuitry, and programmable processingelements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Accelerators742 can provide multiple neural networks, processor cores, or graphicsprocessing units can be made available for use by artificialintelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) models. For example, the AImodel can use or include any or a combination of: a reinforcementlearning scheme, Q-learning scheme, deep-Q learning, or AsynchronousAdvantage Actor-Critic (A3C), combinatorial neural network, recurrentcombinatorial neural network, or other AI or ML model. Multiple neuralnetworks, processor cores, or graphics processing units can be madeavailable for use by AI or ML models.

The system can also include an infrastructure processing unit (IPU) ordata processing unit (DPU) to process the requests received by thesystem and dispatch them to an appropriate processor or acceleratorwithin the system.

Memory subsystem 720 represents the main memory of system 700 andprovides storage for code to be executed by processor 710, or datavalues to be used in executing a routine. Memory subsystem 720 caninclude one or more memory devices 730 such as read-only memory (ROM),flash memory, volatile memory, or a combination of such devices. Memory730 stores and hosts, among other things, operating system (OS) 732 toprovide a software platform for execution of instructions in system 700.Additionally, applications 734 can execute on the software platform ofOS 732 from memory 730. Applications 734 represent programs that havetheir own operational logic to perform execution of one or morefunctions. Processes 736 represent agents or routines that provideauxiliary functions to OS 732 or one or more applications 734 or acombination. OS 732, applications 734, and processes 736 providesoftware functionality to provide functions for system 700. In oneexample, memory subsystem 720 includes memory controller 722, which is amemory controller to generate and issue commands to memory 730. It willbe understood that memory controller 722 could be a physical part ofprocessor 710 or a physical part of interface 712. For example, memorycontroller 722 can be an integrated memory controller, integrated onto acircuit with processor 710. In some examples, a system on chip (SOC orSoC) combines into one SoC package one or more of: processors, graphics,memory, memory controller, and Input/Output (I/O) control logiccircuitry.

A volatile memory is memory whose state (and therefore the data storedin it) is indeterminate if power is interrupted to the device. Dynamicvolatile memory requires refreshing the data stored in the device tomaintain state. One example of dynamic volatile memory incudes DRAM(Dynamic Random Access Memory), or some variant such as Synchronous DRAM(SDRAM). A memory subsystem as described herein may be compatible with anumber of memory technologies, such as DDR3 (Double Data Rate version 3,original release by JEDEC (Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council)on Jun. 27, 2007). DDR4 (DDR version 4, initial specification publishedin September 2012 by JEDEC), DDR4E (DDR version 4), LPDDR3 (Low PowerDDR version3, JESD209-3B, August 2013 by JEDEC), LPDDR4) LPDDR version4, JESD209-4, originally published by JEDEC in August 2014), WIO2 (WideInput/Output version 2, JESD229-2 originally published by JEDEC inAugust 2014, HBM (High Bandwidth Memory), JESD235, originally publishedby JEDEC in October 2013, LPDDR5, HBM2 (HBM version 2), or others orcombinations of memory technologies, and technologies based onderivatives or extensions of such specifications.

In various implementations, memory resources can be “pooled”. Forexample, the memory resources of memory modules installed on multiplecards, blades, systems, etc. (e.g., that are inserted into one or moreracks) are made available as additional main memory capacity to CPUsand/or servers that need and/or request it. In such implementations, theprimary purpose of the cards/blades/systems is to provide suchadditional main memory capacity. The cards/blades/systems are reachableto the CPUs/servers that use the memory resources through some kind ofnetwork infrastructure such as CXL, CAPI, etc.

The memory resources can also be tiered (different access times areattributed to different regions of memory), disaggregated (memory is aseparate (e.g., rack pluggable) unit that is accessible to separate(e.g., rack pluggable) CPU units), and/or remote (e.g., memory isaccessible over a network).

While not specifically illustrated, it will be understood that system700 can include one or more buses or bus systems between devices, suchas a memory bus, a graphics bus, interface buses, or others. Buses orother signal lines can communicatively or electrically couple componentstogether, or both communicatively and electrically couple thecomponents. Buses can include physical communication lines,point-to-point connections, bridges, adapters, controllers, or othercircuitry or a combination. Buses can include, for example, one or moreof a system bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect express (PCIe) bus,a HyperTransport or industry standard architecture (ISA) bus, a smallcomputer system interface (SCSI) bus, Remote Direct Memory Access(RDMA), Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI), NVM express(NVMe), Coherent Accelerator Interface (CXL), Coherent AcceleratorProcessor Interface (CAPI), Cache Coherent Interconnect for Accelerators(CCIX), Open Coherent Accelerator Processor (Open CAPI) or otherspecification developed by the Gen-z consortium, a universal serial bus(USB), or an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)standard 1394 bus.

In one example, system 700 includes interface 714, which can be coupledto interface 712. In one example, interface 714 represents an interfacecircuit, which can include standalone components and integratedcircuitry. In one example, multiple user interface components orperipheral components, or both, couple to interface 714. Networkinterface 750 provides system 700 the ability to communicate with remotedevices (e.g., servers or other computing devices) over one or morenetworks. Network interface 750 can include an Ethernet adapter,wireless interconnection components, cellular network interconnectioncomponents, USB (universal serial bus), or other wired or wirelessstandards-based or proprietary interfaces. Network interface 750 cantransmit data to a remote device, which can include sending data storedin memory. Network interface 750 can receive data from a remote device,which can include storing received data into memory. Various embodimentscan be used in connection with network interface 750, processor 710, andmemory subsystem 720.

In one example, system 700 includes one or more input/output (I/O)interface(s) 760. I/O interface 760 can include one or more interfacecomponents through which a user interacts with system 700 (e.g., audio,alphanumeric, tactile/touch, or other interfacing). Peripheral interface770 can include any hardware interface not specifically mentioned above.Peripherals refer generally to devices that connect dependently tosystem 700. A dependent connection is one where system 700 provides thesoftware platform or hardware platform or both on which operationexecutes, and with which a user interacts.

In one example, system 700 includes storage subsystem 780 to store datain a nonvolatile manner. In one example, in certain systemimplementations, at least certain components of storage 780 can overlapwith components of memory subsystem 720. Storage subsystem 780 includesstorage device(s) 784, which can be or include any conventional mediumfor storing large amounts of data in a nonvolatile manner, such as oneor more magnetic, solid state, or optical based disks, or a combination.Storage 784 holds code or instructions and data in a persistent state(e.g., the value is retained despite interruption of power to system700). Storage 784 can be generically considered to be a “memory,”although memory 730 is typically the executing or operating memory toprovide instructions to processor 710. Whereas storage 784 isnonvolatile, memory 730 can include volatile memory (e.g., the value orstate of the data is indeterminate if power is interrupted to system700). In one example, storage subsystem 780 includes controller 782 tointerface with storage 784. In one example controller 782 is a physicalpart of interface 714 or processor 710 or can include circuits in bothprocessor 710 and interface 714.

A non-volatile memory (NVM) device is a memory whose state isdeterminate even if power is interrupted to the device. In oneembodiment, the NVM device can comprise a block addressable memorydevice, such as NAND technologies, or more specifically, multi-thresholdlevel NAND flash memory (for example, Single-Level Cell (“SLC”),Multi-Level Cell (“MLC”), Quad-Level Cell (“QLC”), Tri-Level Cell(“TLC”), or some other NAND). A NVM device can also comprise abyte-addressable write-in-place three dimensional cross point memorydevice, or other byte addressable write-in-place NVM device (alsoreferred to as persistent memory), such as single or multi-level PhaseChange Memory (PCM) or phase change memory with a switch (PCMS), NVMdevices that use chalcogenide phase change material (for example,chalcogenide glass), resistive memory including metal oxide base, oxygenvacancy base and Conductive Bridge Random Access Memory (CB-RAM),nanowire memory, ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM, FRAM),magneto resistive random access memory (MRAM) that incorporatesmemristor technology, spin transfer torque (STT)-MRAM, a spintronicmagnetic junction memory based device, a magnetic tunneling junction(MTJ) based device, a DW (Domain Wall) and SOT (Spin Orbit Transfer)based device, a thyristor based memory device, or a combination of anyof the above, or other memory.

A power source (not depicted) provides power to the components of system700. More specifically, power source typically interfaces to one ormultiple power supplies in system 700 to provide power to the componentsof system 700. In one example, the power supply includes an AC to DC(alternating current to direct current) adapter to plug into a walloutlet. Such AC power can be renewable energy (e.g., solar power) powersource. In one example, power source includes a DC power source, such asan external AC to DC converter. In one example, power source or powersupply includes wireless charging hardware to charge via proximity to acharging field. In one example, power source can include an internalbattery, alternating current supply, motion-based power supply, solarpower supply, or fuel cell source.

In an example, system 700 can be implemented as a disaggregatedcomputing system. For example, the system 700 can be implemented withinterconnected compute sleds of processors, memories, storages, networkinterfaces, and other components. High speed interconnects can be usedsuch as PCIe, Ethernet, or optical interconnects (or a combinationthereof). For example, the sleds can be designed according to anyspecifications promulgated by the Open Compute Project (OCP) or otherdisaggregated computing effort, which strives to modularize mainarchitectural computer components into rack-pluggable components (e.g.,a rack pluggable processing component, a rack pluggable memorycomponent, a rack pluggable storage component, a rack pluggableaccelerator component, etc.).

Although a computer is largely described by the above discussion of FIG.7, other types of systems to which the above described invention can beapplied and are also partially or wholly described by FIG. 7 arecommunication systems such as routers, switches, and base stations.

FIG. 8 depicts an example of a data center. Various embodiments can beused in or with the data center of FIG. 8. As shown in FIG. 8, datacenter 800 may include an optical fabric 812. Optical fabric 812 maygenerally include a combination of optical signaling media (such asoptical cabling) and optical switching infrastructure via which anyparticular sled in data center 800 can send signals to (and receivesignals from) the other sleds in data center 800. However, optical,wireless, and/or electrical signals can be transmitted using fabric 812.The signaling connectivity that optical fabric 812 provides to any givensled may include connectivity both to other sleds in a same rack andsleds in other racks.

Data center 800 includes four racks 802A to 802D and racks 802A to 802Dhouse respective pairs of sleds 804A-1 and 804A-2, 804B-1 and 804B-2,804C-1 and 804C-2, and 804D-1 and 804D-2. Thus, in this example, datacenter 800 includes a total of eight sleds. Optical fabric 812 canprovide sled signaling connectivity with one or more of the seven othersleds. For example, via optical fabric 812, sled 804A-1 in rack 802A maypossess signaling connectivity with sled 804A-2 in rack 802A, as well asthe six other sleds 804B-1, 804B-2, 804C-1, 804C-2, 804D-1, and 804D-2that are distributed among the other racks 802B, 802C, and 802D of datacenter 800. The embodiments are not limited to this example. Forexample, fabric 812 can provide optical and/or electrical signaling.

FIG. 9 depicts an environment 900 that includes multiple computing racks902, each including a Top of Rack (ToR) switch 904, a pod manager 906,and a plurality of pooled system drawers. Generally, the pooled systemdrawers may include pooled compute drawers and pooled storage drawersto, e.g., effect a disaggregated computing system. Optionally, thepooled system drawers may also include pooled memory drawers and pooledInput/Output (I/O) drawers. In the illustrated embodiment the pooledsystem drawers include an INTEL® XEON® pooled computer drawer 908, andINTEL® ATOM™ pooled compute drawer 910, a pooled storage drawer 912, apooled memory drawer 914, and a pooled I/O drawer 916. Each of thepooled system drawers is connected to ToR switch 904 via a high-speedlink 918, such as a 40 Gigabit/second (Gb/s) or 100 Gb/s Ethernet linkor an 100+Gb/s Silicon Photonics (SiPh) optical link. In one embodimenthigh-speed link 918 comprises an 1000 Gb/s SiPh optical link.

Again, the drawers can be designed according to any specificationspromulgated by the Open Compute Project (OCP) or other disaggregatedcomputing effort, which strives to modularize main architecturalcomputer components into rack-pluggable components (e.g., a rackpluggable processing component, a rack pluggable memory component, arack pluggable storage component, a rack pluggable acceleratorcomponent, etc.).

Multiple of the computing racks 900 may be interconnected via their ToRswitches 904 (e.g., to a pod-level switch or data center switch), asillustrated by connections to a network 920. In some embodiments, groupsof computing racks 902 are managed as separate pods via pod manager(s)906. In one embodiment, a single pod manager is used to manage all ofthe racks in the pod. Alternatively, distributed pod managers may beused for pod management operations. RSD environment 900 further includesa management interface 922 that is used to manage various aspects of theRSD environment. This includes managing rack configuration, withcorresponding parameters stored as rack configuration data 924.

Any of the systems, data centers or racks discussed above, apart frombeing integrated in a typical data center, can also be implemented inother environments such as within a bay station, or other micro-datacenter, e.g., at the edge of a network.

Embodiments herein may be implemented in various types of computing,smart phones, tablets, personal computers, and networking equipment,such as switches, routers, racks, and blade servers such as thoseemployed in a data center and/or server farm environment. The serversused in data centers and server farms comprise arrayed serverconfigurations such as rack-based servers or blade servers. Theseservers are interconnected in communication via various networkprovisions, such as partitioning sets of servers into Local AreaNetworks (LANs) with appropriate switching and routing facilitiesbetween the LANs to form a private Intranet. For example, cloud hostingfacilities may typically employ large data centers with a multitude ofservers. A blade comprises a separate computing platform that isconfigured to perform server-type functions, that is, a “server on acard.” Accordingly, each blade includes components common toconventional servers, including a main circuit board (main board)providing internal wiring (e.g., buses) for coupling appropriateintegrated circuits (ICs) and other components mounted to the board.

Various examples may be implemented using hardware elements, softwareelements, or a combination of both. In some examples, hardware elementsmay include devices, components, processors, microprocessors, circuits,circuit elements (e.g., transistors, resistors, capacitors, inductors,and so forth), integrated circuits, ASICs, PLDs, DSPs, FPGAs, memoryunits, logic gates, registers, semiconductor device, chips, microchips,chip sets, and so forth. In some examples, software elements may includesoftware components, programs, applications, computer programs,application programs, system programs, machine programs, operatingsystem software, middleware, firmware, software modules, routines,subroutines, functions, methods, procedures, software interfaces, APIs,instruction sets, computing code, computer code, code segments, computercode segments, words, values, symbols, or any combination thereof.Determining whether an example is implemented using hardware elementsand/or software elements may vary in accordance with any number offactors, such as desired computational rate, power levels, heattolerances, processing cycle budget, input data rates, output datarates, memory resources, data bus speeds and other design or performanceconstraints, as desired for a given implementation.

Some examples may be implemented using or as an article of manufactureor at least one computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium mayinclude a non-transitory storage medium to store program code. In someexamples, the non-transitory storage medium may include one or moretypes of computer-readable storage media capable of storing electronicdata, including volatile memory or non-volatile memory, removable ornon-removable memory, erasable or non-erasable memory, writeable orre-writeable memory, and so forth. In some examples, the program codeimplements various software elements, such as software components,programs, applications, computer programs, application programs, systemprograms, machine programs, operating system software, middleware,firmware, software modules, routines, subroutines, functions, methods,procedures, software interfaces, API, instruction sets, computing code,computer code, code segments, computer code segments, words, values,symbols, or any combination thereof.

According to some examples, a computer-readable medium may include anon-transitory storage medium to store or maintain instructions thatwhen executed by a machine, computing device or system, cause themachine, computing device or system to perform methods and/or operationsin accordance with the described examples. The instructions may includeany suitable type of code, such as source code, compiled code,interpreted code, executable code, static code, dynamic code, and thelike. The instructions may be implemented according to a predefinedcomputer language, manner or syntax, for instructing a machine,computing device or system to perform a certain function. Theinstructions may be implemented using any suitable high-level,low-level, object-oriented, visual, compiled and/or interpretedprogramming language.

To the extent any of the teachings above can be embodied in asemiconductor chip, a description of a circuit design of thesemiconductor chip for eventual targeting toward a semiconductormanufacturing process can take the form of various formats such as a(e.g., VHDL or Verilog) register transfer level (RTL) circuitdescription, a gate level circuit description, a transistor levelcircuit description or mask description or various combinations thereof.Such circuit descriptions, sometimes referred to as “IP Cores”, arecommonly embodied on one or more computer readable storage media (suchas one or more CD-ROMs or other type of storage technology) and providedto and/or otherwise processed by and/or for a circuit design synthesistool and/or mask generation tool. Such circuit descriptions may also beembedded with program code to be processed by a computer that implementsthe circuit design synthesis tool and/or mask generation tool.

The appearances of the phrase “one example” or “an example” are notnecessarily all referring to the same example or embodiment. Any aspectdescribed herein can be combined with any other aspect or similar aspectdescribed herein, regardless of whether the aspects are described withrespect to the same figure or element. Division, omission or inclusionof block functions depicted in the accompanying figures does not inferthat the hardware components, circuits, software, and/or elements forimplementing these functions would necessarily be divided, omitted, orincluded in embodiments.

Some examples may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. These terms are notnecessarily intended as synonyms for each other. For example,descriptions using the terms “connected” and/or “coupled” may indicatethat two or more elements are in direct physical or electrical contactwith each other. The term “coupled,” however, may also mean that two ormore elements are not in direct contact with each other, but yet stillco-operate or interact with each other.

The terms “first,” “second,” and the like, herein do not denote anyorder, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish oneelement from another. The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote alimitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least oneof the referenced items. The term “asserted” used herein with referenceto a signal denote a state of the signal, in which the signal is active,and which can be achieved by applying any logic level either logic 0 orlogic 1 to the signal. The terms “follow” or “after” can refer toimmediately following or following after some other event or events.Other sequences may also be performed according to alternativeembodiments. Furthermore, additional sequences may be added or removeddepending on the particular applications. Any combination of changes canbe used and one of ordinary skill in the art with the benefit of thisdisclosure would understand the many variations, modifications, andalternative embodiments thereof.

Disjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, or Z,”unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood within thecontext as used in general to present that an item, term, etc., may beeither X, Y, or Z, or any combination thereof (e.g., X, Y, and/or Z).Thus, such disjunctive language is not generally intended to, and shouldnot, imply that certain embodiments require at least one of X, at leastone of Y, or at least one of Z to each be present. Additionally,conjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, and Z,”unless specifically stated otherwise, should also be understood to meanX, Y, Z, or any combination thereof, including “X, Y, and/or Z.”

1. An apparatus, comprising: a bolster plate having a window; a loadstud that emanates from a face of the bolster plate; and, a back boltthat emanates from an opposite face of the bolster plate, the back boltto secure the bolster plate to a back plate with a circuit boardtherebetween, the circuit board to support a semiconductor chip packagewithin the window, the load stud and back bolt oriented along a sameaxis that is orthogonal to the face and the opposite face.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the load stud and back bolt are differentsections of a same mechanical element.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2further comprising a loading plate, the loading plate to be placed onthe bolster plate, the loading plate comprising a fixturing element tosecure the loading plate to the load stud, the loading plate having athickness to support the weight of heat sink that is to be thermallycoupled to the semiconductor chip package.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3wherein a load spring for the fixturing element is formed by themechanical element between the load stud and back bolt.
 5. The apparatusof claim 1 further comprising a loading plate, the loading plate to beplaced on the bolster plate, the loading plate comprising a fixturingelement to secure the loading plate to the load stud, the loading platehaving a thickness to support the weight of heat sink that is to bethermally coupled to the semiconductor chip package.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the bolster plate does not include any observable holes.7. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the bolster plate comprisesprotrusions to strengthen the bolster plate.
 8. An apparatus,comprising: a heat sink; a loading plate, the heat sink mounted to theloading plate, the loading plate to be placed on a bolster plate, theloading plate comprising a fixturing element to secure the loading plateto the bolster plate, the loading plate having a thickness to supportthe weight of the heat sink; and, a semiconductor chip package mountedto the loading plate, the semiconductor chip package being thermallycoupled to the heat sink.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thefixturing element comprises a mechanical element having fingers that: a)open away from a load stud of the bolster plate when the load stud movesin a first direction that is deeper into the fixturing element; and, b)clamp upon the load stud when the load stud moves in an oppositedirection.
 10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the fingers arethreaded.
 11. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the loading platecomprises multiple fixturing elements to secure the loading plate to thebolster plate, the multiple fixturing elements comprising a respectivenut to thread onto a respective load stud of the bolster plate, thefixturing elements comprising a respective stop element to stop furtherthreading of the respective nut onto the respective load stud.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 8 wherein the loading plate has keys to mate withcorresponding keys and/or grooves on the bolster plate.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 8 wherein the heat sink is mounted to the loadingplate with locked fixturing elements, that, when unlocked break thethermal coupling between the heat sink and the semiconductor chippackage.
 14. The apparatus of claim 13 wherein the fixturing elementscomprise a respective cam to drive a respective pin that emanates fromthe loading plate toward the heat sink when the fixturing elements arebeing locked.
 15. An apparatus, comprising: a back plate; a bolsterplate that is secured to the back plate with a back bolt, the bolsterplate having a window; a circuit board between the back plate and thebolster plate, a semiconductor chip package electro-mechanically coupledto the circuit board within the window; a load stud that emanates from aface of the bolster plate, the back bolt emanating from an opposite faceof the bolster plate, the load stud and back bolt oriented along a sameaxis that is orthogonal to the face and the opposite face; a heat sink;and, a loading plate, the heat sink mounted to the loading plate, theloading plate comprising a fixturing element that is secured to the loadstud to secure the loading plate to the bolster plate.
 16. The apparatusof claim 15 wherein the load stud and back bolt are different sectionsof a same mechanical element.
 17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein aload spring for the fixturing element is formed by the mechanicalelement between the load stud and back bolt.
 18. The apparatus of claim15 wherein the bolster plate does not include any observable holes. 19.The apparatus of claim 15 wherein the bolster plate comprisesprotrusions to strengthen the bolster plate.
 20. The apparatus of claim15 wherein the fixturing element comprises a mechanical element havingfingers that: a) open away from the load stud when the load stud movesin a first direction that is deeper into the fixturing element; and, b)clamp upon the load stud when the load stud moves in an oppositedirection.